It's Never Too Early...

It's Never Too Early... will be a repeating feature intended to cast Xavier's upcoming opponent in the light of how they will affect tournament chances. RPI cited will be from Jerry Palm.

Florida- A BCS team almost always represents a chance to boost the resume for March. While Wake Forest earlier this season was a glaring exception to that, Florida is not. Florida is currently 28th in the RPI with the 24th most difficult schedule to date. Florida is also ranked in both national polls (20th in the AP, 19th in ESPN/USA Today). The Gators are also likely to maintain their value going forward if they play passingly well in a very highly ranked SEC. Look for Florida's SOS and RPI numbers to steadily increase as we head toward March.

What this all means to Xavier is a very good chance for a marquee win. A loss to Old Dominion (#12 RPI) already represents a very good chance that has gone begging. While the win over Butler (RPI #6) looks good, the comparative weakness of the pre-conference schedule leavees X needing one more big win. Knocking off a Florida team that the media affords a good deal more respect than either of those nationally unranked programs would be a tremendous boost come Selection Sunday.